Best Selling Road Running Shoes by Color – Summer 2018

Year after year, Running Warehouse has put out a best selling shoes blog to give our readers some insights on the buying trends seen on our site. While it may not be the same trends seen at your local running store, it does offer a unique look at what the RW customer is looking for. After going through the data and excluding any clearance sales, we created a list of the road running shoes (by color) that sold best during the second quarter of 2018 (April, May, and June).

On the men’s side HOKA ONE ONE dominated, taking 12 of the top 20 positions. While the Nike Vaporfly 4% took the #1 spot in 2017 Q4, the HOKA Napali came out as the top dog in 2018 Q2. Along with with the #3 and #4 positions on the list, the Napali proved that many runners still have a soft spot in their hearts for the underfoot feel of the HOKA Clifton 3. Another big hitter that took 6 of the top 20 positions was the HOKA Clifton 4. The shoe offered pretty big updates over version 3, but it has proven to be a reliable training option and continues to be a major player on the best selling list. Now, with the release of the HOKA Clifton 5, we’ve seen some small and needed tweaks over its predecessor which should put the shoe in the running for the #1 spot in Q3. The last HOKA shoe to make the cut was the Bondi 5, which secured two colors on the list.

The Nike Vaporfly 4% was “THE shoe” at the end of 2017, and now that we are well in to 2018, it’s the shoe on everyone’s mind. The shoe came in at the number 2 spot and very well could have been the top shoe if it wasn’t for lack of deeper inventory. Nike also has had quite a bit of success with the release of the new Pegasus 35. Even though it wasn’t released until halfway through the quarter, one color-way picked up the #16 spot. We expect the Pegasus 35 and the newly released Pegasus Turbo to see some big numbers in Q3.

The core Brooks shoes also had a solid showing across the board. The Ghost 10 snuck 2 colors onto the list while an individual color of the Glycerin 15 made it into the top 10. On the stability side, the classic feel of the Adrenaline GTS 18 continued its legacy coming in at #19.

While there weren’t a lot of lightweight shoes or racing flats on this quarter’s list, the ASICS DS Trainer 23 did squeeze into the top 10 and the crowd favorite New Balance 1400 v6 came in at #11 and #20.

On the women’s side, HOKA was also the overwhelming favorite, taking 13 of the top 20 shoes. The Clifton 4 took 7 of the top 20 positions while the Napali also has a strong showing with 2 color-ways in the top 10. While not quite as popular, the Bondi and Arahi also had a decent showing rounding out the top 20.

While HOKA had the most color-ways make the list, the Brooks Ghost 10 came out as the number 1 shoe on the women’s side. Along with 2 other colors in the top 10, the Ghost series has proven to be one of the top sellers year after year. With the release of the even more responsive Ghost 11, we should see the shoe continue to thrive into Q3. Other than the the Ghost, we also saw 2 colors of the Glycerin 15 and an individual color of the Adrenaline 18 make the top 20. Although Brooks and HOKA seemed to fill the women’s side, we did see one color of the adidas Boston 7 round out the list.

Below are the full lists for the top twenty best selling* road shoes in the second quarter (April, May, and June) of 2018.

*Rankings are based on units sold during 2018 Q2. Unisex models and colorways sold on clearancehave been excluded.

For a look at the shoes that will be taking over these lists in the third quarter of 2018, be sure to check out our new arrivals page!

Connor, aka The Face of Running Warehouse, is our resident footwear guru and helps us keep a finger on the pulse of running trends and current events. A member of the local HOKA Aggies running team, Connor walks the walk, or should we say, runs the run.